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Nordholz Naval Airbase Flugplatz Nordholz (Advanced Landing Ground R-56) | |||||||||||
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 Nordholz Naval Airbase | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | German Navy | ||||||||||
| Operator | Marineflieger (German Naval Air) | ||||||||||
| Location | Nordholz,Germany | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 74 ft / 23 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°46′04″N008°39′36″E / 53.76778°N 8.66000°E /53.76778; 8.66000 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  ETMN Location of Nordholz Naval Airbase | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Nordholz Naval Airbase (German:Fliegerhorst Nordholz) (IATA:FCN,ICAO:ETMN) is a German Naval Air base located near the town ofNordholz inLower Saxony, 25 km north ofBremerhaven, and 12 km southwest ofCuxhaven. It is the home of Naval Air Command (Marinefliegerkommando), with Naval Air Wing 3 (Marinefliegergeschwader 3) and Naval Air Wing 5 (Marinefliegergeschwader 5), equipped with theP-3C Orion,Dornier 228NG,Mk88A Sea Lynx andMk41 Sea King (last flight August 31, 2024), replaced byNH 90 Sea Lion.
Nordholz Naval Airbase is one of the oldest airports in Germany, dating to 17 December 1912. Construction of the airport installations started a year later and was finished in 1914.
DuringWorld War I Nordholz served as the principalairship base for theImperial German Navy. The firstZeppelin L 3 landing on 2 September 1914 marked the beginning of flight operations. A month later, the Marine-Luftschiff-Abteilung moved from HamburgFuhlsbüttel Airport to Nordholz, with the first anti-aircraft batteries arriving four days later on 18 October. On 25 December the base was one of the targets of theCuxhaven Raid. German airships started bombing raids on Britain in 1915, initially usingGerman ArmyZeppelins; in June 1915, however, German Navy Zeppelins based at Nordholz began attacks on London. Raids against various places in Britain continued until 1918.
On 23 June 1919, Six Zeppelins (LZ 46, LZ 79, LZ 91, LZ103, LZ 110, and LZ 111) were destroyed at Nordholz Airbase by their own crews in order to prevent them from falling intoAllied hands. According to the terms of theTreaty of Versailles, all airport installations were dismantled after the war in 1919.
| Production number | Class | Name / tactical numbering | Usage | Flight career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | L 14 | 9 August 1915 | Most successful German Navy airship; 42 reconnaissance missions; 17 attacks on Britain dropping a total of 22,045 kg (48,601 lb) of bombs; taken out of service during 1917 and 1918. Destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919. | |
| R | L 41 | 15 January 1917 | 15 reconnaissance missions around theNorth Sea; four attacks on England dropping a totalof 6,567 kilograms (14,478 lb)of bombs; used as a school ship from 11 December 1917. Destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919. | |
| S | L 42 | 21 February 1917 | First of theHeight-Climber S class, which had a lightened structure to improve maximum altitude. 20 reconnaissance missions; 4 attacks on England dropping a total of 6,030 kilograms (13,290 lb) of bombs; used as a school ship from 6 June 1918. Destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919. | |
| V | L 56 | 24 September 1917 | 17 reconnaissance missions; participated in the last raid on England on 6 August 1918. Destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919. | |
| V | L 63 | 4 March 1918 | Dropped a total of 8,915 kg (19,654 lb) of bombs in three attacks on England, including participation in the last raid on England on 6 August 1918. Destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919. | |
| V | L 65 | 17 April 1918 | Participated in the last raid on England on 6 August 1918. Destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919. |
Flying returned to Nordholz in 1938, when theLuftwaffe decided to rebuild the airfield. At the outbreak ofWorld War II theJagdgeschwader 77Herz As (ace of hearts) fighter wing stationedMesserschmitt Bf 109E fighters at the airfield. These were supplemented by several groups of JG 1, tasked with defending the North Sea shores against BritishRoyal Air Force (RAF) attacks.
During theoccupation of Denmark andNorway,Kampfgruppe 100Wiking flew attacks from Nordholz with theirHeinkel He 111 medium bombers, before its enlargement intoKG 100.
Between 1941 and 1943 Nordholz was not used, but the Luftwaffe returned in March 1943, as 3.Staffel/JG 54Grünherz moved to Nordholz. 3./JG 26Schlageter followed in June and 2./JG 11 in August. All units, flying Bf 109F and -G day fighters stayed only a few weeks in northern Germany, before moving to theEastern Front or along theEnglish Channel.The base's role changed in October 1943 when it was turned into anight fighter base with 7./NJG 3 moved fromStade to Nordholz. At the end of the war, between January and April 1945, Nordholz had the honor of hosting theMesserschmitt Me 163B Komet rocket-powered fighter aircraft coming from parts of 2./JG 400.
The airfield was occupied by U.S. forces on 16 May 1945 as part of theAmerican Zone of Occupation in theBremen area, anenclave surrounded by the British zone. TheUnited States Army Air Forces moved into the airfield on 5 June and it served as home forP-47 Thunderbolts of86th Fighter Group 512th and 513th Fighter Squadrons, flying air defense missions from the base over the Bremen area. Initially given the designation ofAdvanced Landing Ground "R-56", it was renamedArmy Air Force Station Nordholtz, or simply Nordholz Air Base. After reducing the boundary of the American enclave to the borders of theState of Bremen in 1947 the airfield, located inLower Saxony, was handed over to the RAF, who began dismantling the airport installations and destroying the three concrete runways.
Situated to the north of Bremen city, Marinefliegerhorst (Naval Air Station) Nordholz is the home of theGerman Navy's Marinefliegergeschwader 3 "Graf Zeppelin". Named in honour of Germany's pioneer of lighter than air airships,Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the MFG 3 operates both the service's long range maritime patrol and shipborne helicopter fleets. Additionally, MFG 3 also flies the Dornier Do.228 environmental patrol aircraft which belong to the Department of Transport. The slogan "fliegen wo die Flotte fährt" (to fly where the fleet sails) is taken seriously by this unit.
In 1959 construction of the current airbase began. This time a single runway airfield was constructed according toNATO standards, which was to serve as a Naval Air Station. Building ended in 1962, with the first parts of MFG 2 arriving in July. On 26 April 1963 the airfield was officially put into service, though the usability of the base was still limited.
A year later the subhunting component of MFG 2 moved fromWesterland onSylt to Nordholz. In 1965 the airfield was officially handed over to the planning staffs of MFG 3.
Since 1966, theBreguet Br.1150 Atlantic has been the German Navy's anti submarine warfare and long range maritime patrol asset. The type replaced the British suppliedFairey Gannets used for a few years during the 1960s. The Atlantic is unique in that it has been designed for this mission specifically from scratch. The other Western types with the same mission, the American P-3 Orion and the BritishNimrod, found their origins in respectively theElectra andComet civil transports. A total of 20, excluding a non-flying prototype, were delivered to MFG 3 during 1966 and 1967.
MFG 3 was left as the only unit at Nordholz, when the final twoNoratlas of "Passon" left the airbase in 1981. The civil airgroup provided aerial targets over the North andBaltic Sea since 1964.
Nordholz was used for severalCold War NATO deployments ofUnited States Air Force/Air National Guard units during the annual "Reforger" exercises.
Out of the 20 Atlantics, five were converted during 1969 and 1970 intosignals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, specialised in electronic reconnaissance of hostile radar systems and communications of what used to be theEastern Bloc. Under the code name of Peace Peek, the conversions were done by E-systems in the United States. Today, three of these machines survive, among them 61+06 depicted left. One of these has already been scrapped, the other has been broken up for spares. They can easily be distinguished by their differing radome under the fuselage. The SIGINT machines proved especially useful during theNATO Kosovo operations of 1999. It may be that the SIGINT Atlantics will be replaced with a variant of theNorthrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global HawkUAV, if funds can be found.
Out of the 15 standard Atlantics, only eight survived. One was lost in a crash in April 1978, the others have already been scrapped or relegated to ground instructional duties. Nevertheless, the type was kept busy until just a few years ago. From early 2002 a detachment of Atlantics flew lengthy patrol missions fromMombasa, Kenya over theIndian Ocean looking for suspected shipping in theWar on Terror. In September 2003, the detachment, then known as 15. Einsatzgruppe der Marinefliegerflottille (EinsGrpMFlgFltl) or 15th Operations Group Naval Air Forces moved north toDjibouti. The detachment was terminated in March 2005. Since 2008 the detachment is continued by flying with their new P-3C Orion acquired from theRoyal Netherlands Navy.
Nordholz currently operates a mix of Lockheed P-3C Orions, Mk88A Sea Lynx, Mk41 Sea King and the Dornier Do 228NG. Some 2,000 civilian and military personnel are based at Nordholz, with the wing providing surveillance & reconnaissance, anti-submarine search, SAR and pollution control operations. However the Mk41 are sanctioned to be replaced in the next few years byNH90 helicopters which are currently on order for the German Navy.
Just a bit further off is theAeronauticum aviation museum.
Immediately north of the base is the grass runway of theNordholz-Spieka recreational airfield [de] inSpieka [de].
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Nordholz-Spieka recreational airfield:[1]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| OFD Ostfriesischer Flugdienst | Heligoland[2] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related toNordholz Naval Airbase at Wikimedia Commons
